Chatterbox
by Lueur-de-L'aube
Summary: Perhaps it happened because her father had mentioned the matter of relationships, marriage and settling down one time too many in his letters. Slight Levi x Petra.


A/N: My first Attack on Titan fic published here. It is very nerve-wracking to post a story for a new fandom, but I hope this silly little drabble turned out to be decent. Enjoy! And I love reviews ;)

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Petra sighed as she neatly folded the most recent letter her father had sent her. She loved receiving mail from him, to see how he was doing, if he was eating well, how work was going. He was, after all, the only blood relative she had left, and life was short and dangerous. Petra would make sure to write her father regularly. Their topics would range from the mundane to the dangerous expeditions beyond the wall, from her father's back pain to her most recent solo kill of a 5m class titan, from the quirky shenanigans of the pharmacist's daughter that lived next to them, to...Petra's love life.

Or more precisely, her lack of a love life. It was by her own choice, too, but her dear father wasn't exactly convinced. He worried about her a lot, so she couldn't exactly blame him for his meddlesome tendencies, especially when he had to live with the constant fear of not being able to see her again, when another expedition was to commence.

Petra would innocently relay the happenings with her squad, write a small paragraph about each of her squadmates, including Captain Levi. And whenever she received her father's response a few days later, he'd first and foremost assure her that she had to be careful and that she didn't need to worry about finding a man for herself, which was ridiculous because she was not looking for one!

She was startled out of her thoughts when Captain Levi came in and sat brusquely next to her onto the bench, stiffly handing her a cup of coffee.

"O-oh, thank you," she said, blinking dubiously at the lukewarm brown liquid in the cup. "Oh, you put milk in it?" She usually preferred her coffee black, sometimes a small drop of milk that didn't make it so light in colour. On second glance though it didn't even look like it had been properly brewed.

His frown was definitely more pronounced than it usually was and Petra had to control all her muscles not to flinch. He was clearly in a bad mood today and whatever the reason, she didn't want to aggravate him anymore.

"No," he scoffed, gulping down his coffee. "Günther made the coffee today since you weren't─"

"Oh no, I'm sorry." She gasped. "I received a letter from my father and...and…"

"Don't worry about it, Petra," he said gruffly, stretching his legs in front him. "That's why Günther made the coffee and it was a shitty decision on our part."

Glancing warily at the weak flavoured coffee, she giggled quietly. "I will make sure to prepare the coffee for you before I read my father's letters."

"Ah, don't worry about it, but you're usually quickly done with your letters."

"Yes, that's true," she mumbled, smiling fondly, only to frown and sigh when she recalled the content of the newest letter. "My father, as much as I love him, seems to think...I want to marry and settle down and tries to gently tell me he doesn't exactly approve of it."

Levi raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment, just drank his shitty coffee silently. There was something in Petra, a switch that had been turned on, something that snapped, and it made all her frustrations spill in a matter of seconds.

"I don't really want to marry or have a relationship at the moment. I want to serve humanity and devote myself to the Survey Corps and to you, Captain. Maybe later, when...when or if I am still alive by then I might consider it."

A brief minute of silence followed and Petra thought that she was being too much of a chatterbox this morning, especially towards her superior. She'd usually discuss more personal matters with Erd or Günther or sometimes even Auruo, when they weren't arguing. She startled, surprised and a little shocked when Captain Levi did grace her with answer.

"He worries about you," he simply said, shrugging slightly.

Suddenly bashful and shy, she bit her lip, fidgeting and kicking invisible dust with her boots. Of course, there wasn't even the smallest fleck of dust in the room. "I know," she admitted demurely, looking at him from the corner of her eyes discreetly. "It is just...a little frustrating that I have to repeatedly tell him that he's wrong. Sometimes it makes me think he actually wants me to settle down? I don't even know what to think anymore." She sighed, putting her head in her hands. "He's probably starting to believe I dislike the entire idea of relationships, which isn't true at all. It's something I'd rather not deal with right now. It might be nice I guess, but it's more likely to be painful because...because─" she sighed again, heavier than before as her eyes slid shut, but her mouth did anything but. "I do miss some aspects of relationships though, sometimes….I mean I am a young woman and I have my needs as well, and-and I'm not really comfortable with no-strings-attached sex either and─"

A gasp and the realization _just who she was talking t_o! This wasn't Hanji, this wasn't Erd or Günther. Hell, she'd rather have let this kind of detail slip out towards Auruo than to her immediate superior. Heat crawled into her cheeks, setting her skin ablaze with a forceful blush as she nearly dropped her cup.

"C-captain. I...I-I'm uh─"

Levi looked as unperturbed as ever. She had been expecting him to scold her or tell her rudely to shut up, or to simply walk away, shaking his head at her audacity, but he was regarding her calmly, heavy lidded eyes not baring a hint of surprise.

"So even you get those kinds of thoughts, eh?" he asked, something she couldn't clearly decipher glinting in his eyes. It made her blush deepen regardless, as she tried to stammer out something similar to human words and syllables. "Auruo is gonna shit himself when he finds out that you're not a saint."

"Eeeh?"

The corner of his mouth twitched. It was barely there, the smirk of his, but he couldn't have looked more satisfied with himself. Had they been contemplating her sex life or what was he trying to say? She could see Auruo actually being that brazen, but the others, too?! Even the Captain? She was about to go into full lecture mode when Levi's words rang through her mind again, repeatedly and annoyingly and Petra realized something. When Auruo finds out? How should he even─

"Oh God! Don't tell you-you're going to tell them what I just said?!"

Levi didn't answer and took a sip from his coffee.


End file.
